Influence of replacement rate on the welfare of sows introduced to a large dynamic group.

Posted in: Welfare by admin on January 1, 2004 | No Comments

Dynamic social groups are common in sow management. In these groups new animals are added to a resident group at regular intervals, from weekly to every 3-5 weeks. The newly introduced animals are subject to aggression from the resident animals and other newcomers. A question that arises is to what extent does the proportion of animals that are added to the dynamic group affect the aggression and social interaction of the new sows. This study compared the post-grouping injury levels and social integration of sows when 10, 20, 30 or 40% of a dynamic group was replaced. The dynamic groups were comprised of 40 sows. Replacements took place at three-week intervals. Three days prior to new sows being added to the group, 10-40% of the sows were removed. Replacement animals had been housed in groups of 4 for 5 weeks prior to being added to the dynamic group. This is a common procedure that is used for breeding weaned animals. One to four of these groups of 4 sows were added to the dynamic group, representing 10, 20, 30 and 40% replacement rates. Newly introduced animals were exposed to similar amounts of aggression regardless of the replacement rate. However, as replacement rate increased the proportion of aggression derived from other newly introduced sows increased as well. Injuries after one week were similar for all replacement rates. Sows introduced in the 10% replacement treatment spent more time lying outside the kennels (prime sleeping areas) during the first week than did the newly introduced sows in the higher replacement rate treatments. All introduced sows gradually increased their contact time with resident sows over the first week. It would appear that replacing less than 10% of the sows in a dynamic group is quite stressful for those newcomers. Increasing replacement rate beyond 20% does not further reduce the stress on new sows.

Dustbathing by broiler chickens: a comparison of preference for four different substrates.

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A common welfare concern with broiler chickens is leg abnormalities. However, recent research has shown that allowing broiler chickens to exercise in the form of performing natural behaviour such as perching, walking on inclines and dustbathing can improve a chicken’s ability to walk. The hope is to improve leg condition of broiler chickens by increasing the amount of dustbathing that the perform, and to increase the performance this study examined the preferences that chickens had for certain substrates to use for dustbathing. The dustbathing substrates compared were pine wood shavings, rice hulls, construction grade sand and recycled paper animal bedding. Testing began at one week of age and ended at seven weeks of age, each week four new chickens were tested. Prior to testing, the broilers were housed on wood shavings, but during testing they were not given bedding. During testing each corner of the pen was filled with one of the test substrates. The dustbathing behaviour of the birds was measured by counting the number of vertical wing shakes. Significantly more wing shakes were performed, more visits were made and more time was spent in the sand than the other three substrates. Before dustbathing, the chickens typically ground peck which was perform more frequently and more often in sand. The preference to use sand to dustbathe was observed at one week of age and remained consistent throughout the remainder of the trial. This study found that sand is a very attractive substance for dustbathing and also stimulates dustbathing. The next step is to determine if the provision of sand increases dustbathing to a point that helps to improve the leg condition of broiler chickens.

Reassortment of influenza A virus genes linked to PB1 polymerase gene

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The Role of Genetics in Traceability and Quality

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Aside from simple hog improvement, genetics is now being used for DNA traceability. Traceability is important for tracking drug residue, food safety, and marking our pork worldwide as Canadian. The goal of traceability is to trace meat through retail, distribution, processing, slaughter, production, breeding and genetics. DNA tracking could be useful for the slaughter and processing, where tags and tattoos fail to be effective. There is research going on to identify efficient methods of DNA tracing with the goal to make it cost effective and reduce error.

To put this method into practice, replacement gilts will be blood sampled and the sample placed in a bar coded tube. The gilts ID is written next to the bar code and sent to a lab. Although this system is aimed towards quality control and proof of origin, this system can also be used for genetic improvement of the pigs because the carcasses of course will be examined at slaughter.

Boar Nutrition for Optimum Sperm Production

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When evaluating nutritional effects on boars, one should consider libido, quality and quantity of sperm, fertility, welfare, and environmental impacts. Age of boar, genetics, environment, and collection frequency must be considered when evaluating. Sever under nutrition of either protein or energy will affect sperm production. Optimum sperm production occurs when boars are gaining weight, but too much weight gain could compromise the longevity of the boar in the breeding herd. The feed intake level and desired rate of gain in the boar will be dependent on the turnover rate for genetic progress within a stud. Most diets are over formulated and boars are over-fed. Cost per dose of semen depends on several factors, including how many inactive or untrained boars are in the stud, how many rejected collections occur each week, cost of the diets, disease, and other environmental factors. All of these factors can impact the number of doses per week, which will change the cost of nutrition in the end. Basics need to be taken care of when formulating diets for boars. Nutrients should not be over-supplied beyond maintenance and moderate growth (for the achievement of an improvement of sperm production or quality). Other feed additives should be evaluated on either changes in output or changes in fertility to ensure a financial payback. New research will increase the understanding of the impacts that physical factors have on the diet and the implications on reproductive performance. Predicting the true dietary requirements for boars will become more specific and accurate, as new techniques are developed to assess semen, which have a greater correlation to fertility.

Emergence of distinct avian-like influenza A H1N1 viruses in pigs in Ireland and their reassortment with cocirculating H3N2 viruses

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Well-Being of Early Weaned Piglets During Transport: Assessment of Seasonal Effects on Performance and Behavior

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The swine industry has progressively adopted a segregated early weaning management system, necessitating the transport of piglets at 14-21 days of age. Transportation can be a severe stressor especially for young piglets, which show weight loss due to dehydration and food withdrawal. The responses and tolerances of SEW piglets to transport are not well understood. Most previous transport work focused on slaughter hogs. Weaning itself, especially at an early age, affects the piglets performance as they are slow to develop normal feeding patterns and consequently have a compromised feed intake. When weaning coincides with transport, the stressors are additive, increasing the detrimental effects on post-weaning performance. Transport induces fatigue, dehydration and altered behavior patterns in all seasons and can add to the stress of weaning. Each season affects the piglets in different ways and to different degrees. The cold temperatures during winter transport changed piglet behavior and physiology, encouraging lower levels of activity and decreased ear and rectal temperature. The lower piglet density changes were most apparent after 12 hours of transport were exacerbated. Higher levels of resting, indicative of fatigue, were noted for 3 days post-transport. Average daily gain (post recovery) was lowest in winter and 76 % of “poor doers” (less than weaning weight after 7 days) were observed in the winter. Piglets transported in the summer were also observed to rest more frequently into day 2 post transport, indicting that hot summer transport also induces fatigue. Fall transport, possibly because of the large range in temperature produced the greatest changes in behaviors indicative of stress. Sitting was more frequently observed in the fall and higher drinking frequencies were extended into day 2 indicating that the piglets were not able to meet their water consumption needs on day 1, unlike piglets observed in other seasons. Transported piglets, irrespective of duration of transport and season showed some behaviours associated with transport stress including increased resting, sitting and drinking.

Stylosanthes and cassava leaves as protein supplements to a basal diet of broken rice for local pigs

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Nutrient Uptake of Hybrid and Common Bermudagrass Fertilized with Broiler Litter

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EMS's in Agriculture Gathering Steam

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